GM's Journal - November, 13 AD
Back to October. #There is a heavy storm on the ships first day out of Kaja that lasts for nearly five hours #*For the first two and a half hours of running the storm Senra is able to direct the crew well and keep the ship together. #*Then the store takes a turn for the worse and the ship begins to shake apart under the strain. #**In Game Terms the ship was heavily damaged and only managed to survive when Senra used all of her Bennies to make soak rolls. The ship held together with one wound remaining before being wrecked. Amazingly, no additional damage occured from criticals! #*For another hour, the crew manage to keep the ship together, as the storm abates a little #*Finally pushing out of the Storm, Gruul helps the captain at the wheel to keep things going and they are able to finally ride out the storm, but the ship is now sinking slowly and it is only a matter of time before they will be beneath the waves. #**Gruul used common bond to supply Senra with bennies so she could soak for the ship again, but it wasn't enough to save the Belinda. I ruled that thanks to the group efforts, the ship was still floating, but would not last many days before finally sinking. #It is decided that they should head back to Kaja, it being the closest port, in the hopes of making repairs, but enter a Blizzard and get lost, ending up somewhere in the flotsam sea. The ship is still steadily sinking and there is no way to make proper repairs without a dry-dock. #The idea to salvage a wreck that might be in better shape than the Belinda comes to mind. They search the nearby wrecks for a ship they might be able to use - and find the HMS Inflexible, a Schooner that is badly damaged, but in a better state than the already sinking Belinda. It would appear that the Inflexible has arrived recently, been sacked by ... someone ... and then left after it was looted. They give the remains of the crew a burial at sea, but do find a single survivor on board, somewhat delirious, and spending much time unconcious, but alive nonetheless. They are able to discover his name though "Matthew Hotman". The Belinda is abandoned, the cargo transferred to the Inflexible, that is re-named "The Ennis" in order to purge the vessel of the bad luck that it had suffered. There is a lengthly ceremony in order to avoid the bad luck associated with the changing of a ships name. #*Inflexible/Ennis has the following Edges: Thick Hull, Fast, Extra Cargo Space. #*Hindrances: Warped Rudder. Poor Rigging, Small Quarters. #*Cav played the "Relic" Adventure Card, such that a random relic was found on board. It turned out that the ship had a Figurehead of the Carpenter - perhaps made magical during it's transposition to this world, but not known to the crew at the time. Inardal is able to identify the magic and work out it's purpose. #With their 'New' Ship they head east towards Keira. # # #Cav spies a large bird flying to their west, heading towards them. In time it becomes apparent that it is a Roc - it doesn't appear to have noticed the ship, and flies past it, heading east towards the Coaker Mountains. # # # #Spy a Keiran Cutter off the coast of Paltos, they manage to avoid it, sailing away from the coast a little in the hopes that the ship is only patrolling inshore waters. #It seems the Cutter is still following them as they encounter one again, but once more the manage to avoid the Imperial vessel. #They put into Timin, and meet with their contact in "The Break", a tavern in Timin. The contact is a Scurrillian called Nizzini. They also meet his 'Friends' Mandy Montoy and Kizzef the Grael. #*Nizzini informs them that they must make the final delivery a little of the trail between Timin and Braven, one day's travel out of the city. #**Nizzini appears to be the leader of the group and has a very high opinion of himself. Any time he is given news or information that he disbelieves he cries out "Inconceivable" #**Kizzef seems to like to make rhymes, while Montoy is somewhat of an unknown at the moment. #*That afternoon Inardal tracks down a Cart and Llama which she buys to transport the goods. #*Cav tries climbing a building to get a look around the town, and is noticed, called down and extorted by some guards. #*John Smith Goes Fishing - he gets arrested, it is a case of mistaken identity ... but the guards don't believe his protestations of innocence. None of the rest of the crew spot him being taken away, and he isn't missed until that evening. #**He encounters Lux Livis, the commander of the local garrison, who says he will be rewarded well for bringing Edward Low, and he will be taken to Keira for execution in the morning. #*Back on the Ship, they notice that John Smith is missing and go to search for him in a local tavern. #**Gruul looks at "The Break" and finds out that if there is to be a hanging then the fort will fly a black flag. #**Inardal and Cav go to "The Vine" where they get much the same information and discover that the Bartender is somewhat 'anti-Janus Jant'. #**Gruul then joins Inardal and Cav in "The Vine" #**All of them discover information about 'Edward Low' the pirate for whom John Smith has been mistaken. #***Apparently he is known to wear a British 'redcoat'. #***His vessel has been pirating up and down the Keiran coast for the past two months, but was recently sunk off Keira itself. #***He was seen in Timin last week, attempting to recruit a crew, and showed his displeasure at the Emperor, Janus Jant, by defecating on the statue of him that stands in the main square of Timin. #The next morning John Smith is woken early and hauled down to the docks. But Inardal manages to free him by persuading Senator Racen, who is making a political show with Commander Livis, that John Smith is, in fact, innocent. (Inardal's Player used the 'Turncoat' Adventure card to bring Senator Racen around to her 'side') #*Senator Racen then asks to see Inardals ship, and once aboard hires the crew to perform a False Kidnapping #*Senra goes to collect the payment for rescuing The Senator's Daughter, a magical rapier named Mage Slayer #*Inardal and the rest of the crew go to deliver the weapons. #*John Smith gets a Tattoo to help identify him as him. #Inardal, Cav, Gruul and John Smith go to deliver the cargo, they meet the Man in Black and both John and Inardal notice something peculiar about him ... they also recieve 3000 pieces of eight, then return to Timin. #Senra spends time recruiting more crew, the better to sail their larger ship. She meets with an old friend - John Low - who they rescued from a dinghy in the flotsam sea, some time ago. He explains why he has been laying low in Timin, and Senra hears the story of the pirate, Edward Low. Eight new crew are recruited in total, seven Masaquani and the Human, Low, who is a Pilot. #*Gruul and John Smith show the new crew around the ship. #*Inardal, Cav and Senra make a plot #**They buy a pretty dress as a 'present from the Senator' for his Daughter and store in in a trunk with a false bottom. #**They will enter the commandant's house, chloroform the daughter and take her, in the trunk, back to the ship. #**They will then sail away, with no-one any the wiser to her going missing until they are well out of port. #**Upon arrival at the Commandant's house they discover that it is well guarded. #**They then change the plan so that Cav sneaks in ... #**He sneaks into the walled garden, then up to the door. #**Inardal and Senra start a cat-fight outside, to distract the guards, but it only attracts the attention of a couple of them. #**Even so, Cav takes the opportunity and knocks them out, finds the keys on the belt of one of them and goes to the door of the room where the Senator's daughter is held captive. #**Inardal and Senra also attracted the attention of the fort garrison who come out to arrest them and they run away, leading several guards on a chase through the streets of Timin. #**Aware that the Senator's daughter doesn't know that this is a 'rescue' and might fight back, Cav enters the room with a flic-flac that, thanks to a slippery rug ont he floor, ends with him flat on his back with a pistol pressed against his forehead. He manages to grab the girl's wrist and while she fires the shot, he is missed. However, the shot fully sounds the alarm! Cav moves to lock the door to the room from the inside, but the Senator's Daughter doesn't want that to happen - they wrestle and he breaks the key, but then eventually subdues her. #**Deciding to break out of a window, Cav, with the Senator's daughter over his shoulder, makes a run for it. As he makes to break out he is shot by one of the guards, and it is quite possible that the daughter has been hit as well, but he doesn't have time to stop and check. #**Senra avoids the first batch of guards and makes her way back to the commandant's house, hiding in the shadows just as Cav leaps out of a window, again she runs interference for Cav, though more guards burst from the fort gates and they both end up being chased. #**Cav is shot at again and with his injuries slowing him down he is forced to fight, but not after giving the guards an opportunity to flee. They don't take him up on his offer and he ends up killing 3 Keiran Guards, #**Senra is shot and badly injured, and doesn't look like she's going to make it when Inardal rushes to the rescue, drawing Senra's sword and fighting off the guards with Senra's help. #**Meanwhile, having heard the hue and cry on land, Gruul has prepared the ship to sail #**Inardal, with Gruul acting as a Nurse (using common bond to grant bennies) manages to heal the Senator's daughter, along with Cav and Senra of their injuries. #**Putting the Senator's daughter in a cabin to recover, they move her effects in there with her, Senra discovers another box along with it, and decided to open it (Pandora's Box Adventure Card) it contains a ring, that Inardal can't identify, but is definitely magical, and a Mage's Eyeball (From the Mysterious Treasure Adventure Card) #Clear Sailing for the first day out of Timin #They spot The Perdition, the ship of Torquemada, fighting against a Roc, Inardal suggests that they should be left well enough alone ... Gruul isn't too sure that they should leave them alone, but Inardal is quite vociferous. Senra steps in and decides that ... # #As they sail past the coast of Torath-Ka there is an unseasonable level of heat, which lasts for the next several days. Their prisoner comes 'round and starts to make problems ... when she is taken by Gruul to be locked up she steals a chisel from his work belt. Later it is noticed that there are scrapes around the porthole as if someone were trying to escape. #They put into the coast of Torath-Ka in order to Forage for food, netting 75 Provisions. #They forage for a second day, netting a further 25 provisions. When they return to the ship, they discover that Rana has gone missing ... as has the longboat. Spying the longboat they turn to follow it, around a headland - when they catch up they see the longboat smashed on some rocks and spot a trail leading into the forest. #*They follow the trail and find a Mulak-To where Rana and some other captives are being sacrificed by an Ugak Shaman #*The manage to rescue her, but not before a Giant Monkape is summoned, who injures several of the crew. #*John Smith manages to kill the Giant Monkape with a shot in the mouth, and also is the one who kills the Ugak Shaman. #*After healing #**Senra has 3 Wounds, #**Cav has 3 Wounds #**Inardal has 3 Wounds #**Gruul has 1 Wound #**Emily's character has 1 Wound #*They head back to the ship, much injured. #They Anchor off the coast of Torath-Ka and rest. # # #Mosquitos attack - some fatigue is gained. #Natural Healing so Cav, Senra and Inardal are now at 2 Wounds and Gruul is healed. #They put in to shore to search for food, and find 10 provisions worth. #The Next Day, John and Gruul take the crew deeper into the Jungle and find little more. #They set sail, heading back to 'civilisation' On to December